UCI grad worked on Oscar contender

Feb. 22, 2013

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Pictured are the editors of "The Invisible War" at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. From left to right: Derek Boonstra, Edward Patrick Alva and Doug Blush. The film won an award at Sundance and is nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature. COURTESY OF EDWARD PATRICK ALVA

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Ariana Klay, right, a Marine Corps first lieutenant, stands dressed in Marine dress blues in the film, "The Invisible War," which has been nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature. COURTESY OF CINEDIGM/DOCUDRAMA FILMS

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Edward Patrick Alva, a UC Irvine graduate, worked as an assitant editor on "The Invisible War," which is nominated for best documentary feature at the Academy Awards. COURTESY OF EDWARD PATRICK ALVA

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Kori Cioca, of the Coast Guard, and husband, Rob, in an emotional interview in a scene from "The Invisible War." The Oscar-nominated documentary chronicles sexual assault in the U.S. military. COURTESY OF CINEDIGM/DOCUDRAMA FILMS

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Pictured are the editors of "The Invisible War" in Park City, Utah, during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. From left: Doug Blush, Derek Boonstra and Edward Patrick Alva. COURTESY OF EDWARD PATRICK ALVA

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The official poster for "The Invisible War," which has been nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature. COURTESY OF "THE INVISIBLE WAR"

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Airman 1st Class Jessica Hinves, of the Air Force, kneels under an aircraft in the documentary, "The Invisible War," which has been nominated for an Academy Award. The film chronicles sexual assault in the U.S. military. COURTESY OF CINEDIGM/DOCUDRAMA FILMS

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Edward Patrick Alva (center, wearing tie) is pictured with his production company at the premiere of their short film, "Prescribed," at the 2012 LA Asian Pacific Film Festival. The woman in green is JoAnn Hockersmith, the director. COURTESY OF EDWARD PATRICK ALVA

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Lt. Elle Helmer at the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. She's a member of the Marine Corps and she appears in "The Invisible War," which has been nominated for an Academy Award. COURTESY OF CINEDIGM/DOCUDRAMA FILMS

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Kori Cioca, of the Coast Guard, looks out her window in "The Invisible War." The documentary has been nominated for an Academy Award this year. COURTESY OF CINEDIGM/DOCUDRAMA FILMS

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Producer Amy Ziering and director Kirby Dick accept the U.S. Audience Award for documentaries for the film "The Invisible War" during the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony in Park City, Utah, last month. DANNY MOLOSHOK, ASSOCIATED PRESS

Pictured are the editors of "The Invisible War" at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. From left to right: Derek Boonstra, Edward Patrick Alva and Doug Blush. The film won an award at Sundance and is nominated for an Academy Award for best documentary feature. COURTESY OF EDWARD PATRICK ALVA

Edward Patrick Alva never thought a summer internship would lead to an Oscar nomination.

In 2010, the UC Irvine graduate started his internship at Chain Camera Pictures, an independent, Silver Lake-based film company. He started doing administrative tasks and getting coffee, but his strong work ethic and technical skills caught the attention of Kirby Dick, a film director and founder of the company.

After about six months, Alva was hired full-time as an assistant editor. He kept busy working on the documentary "The Invisible War," which was released nationwide in June. The film, chronicling sexual assault in the U.S. military, wound up getting an Academy Award nomination this year for best documentary feature.

"I just couldn't believe it," Alva, 24, said upon hearing the news in January. "It was amazing. I was just ecstatic."

At UC Irvine, Alva majored in studio art, with a focus on film. He's a Bay Area native, born in Fremont. His parents live in Union City. He resides in North Hollywood.

Alva credits UCI studio art instructor Bryan Jackson as instrumental in helping him get his internship and job at Chain Camera Pictures.

"Bryan Jackson really did push me to pursue the opportunity and provided essential training in film production," he said.

Being assistant editor on "The Invisible War" was by no means a walk in the park. The director and producer Amy Ziering interviewed about 50 veterans and survivors of sexual assault, and Alva was "the first line of defense" on all the footage.

"Basically what I did – I took all the footage that was shot and I transcribed it," he said. "I digitized it. I went through every single bit of footage shot by Kirby and the film team, kept track of it and organized it."

As Alva watched, transcribed and digitized the interviews, he absorbed the harrowing, graphic stories of women (and some men) brutalized and raped by fellow servicemen, only to encounter top military officials covering the crimes up.

"The stories these survivors told – they were really affecting, even to me," he said. "I would come home at night and eat a ton of ice cream to try to keep my mind off of it. All the people Amy interviewed ... would break down on camera constantly. It was really intense."

According to the film, a culture of sexual assault and cover-up seems to thrive in all branches of the military. "The Invisible War" recounts several prominent incidents of rampant sexual abuse, including the Navy Tailhook scandal in 1991, the Army Aberdeen scandal in 1996, and the Air Force Academy scandal in 2003.

In 2010, 108,121 veterans screened positive for military sexual trauma, the film reports, and 68,379 had at least one visit to the Veterans Health Administration for related conditions.

The documentary urges the military to shift prosecution duties away from unit commanders, who are often friends with assailants, or, in some cases, are the assailants themselves.

"The Invisible War" made its world premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Documentary Audience Award.

The film caught the attention of Congress, where it was discussed during a hearing on sexual assault in the military.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta also viewed "The Invisible War," and issued an executive directive to move the oversight of sexual assault cases up the chain of command to the rank of colonel or higher.

"Just the stories that these men and women told – it just got me and Kirby and everyone in the office extremely riled up and wanting to enact change," Alva said.

Doug Blush, editor for "The Invisible War," said Alva was "thrown into the fire" of this film and started "doing everything and anything" to make it a reality.

"He did all kinds of organizing, research for clips," Blush said. "He's a real technical wizard. He's skilled at Final Cut, but also good with Photoshop and After Effects. He's a terrific, all-around filmic guy. To phrase it correctly, he was much more than an assistant; he really was a fellow filmmaker in the process."

"The Invisible War" is available on DVD and for digital download.

Alva – who's working on projects for Chain Camera Pictures and his own fledgling production company – isn't attending Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony. That's because the handful of tickets are going to the director and producer and a couple sexual assault survivors featured in the film.

Of course, he will be watching the awards on TV. "Even if we don't win, the exposure that the nomination gets, that the Academy Awards get, definitely helps the cause. I definitely think that the film has created change, which is a positive effect."

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